Ramridge Primary School pupils enjoyed a special assembly recently to mark the achievement of their Sustrans Silver School Mark when they receiving a spectacular oil painting by a professional artist from Luton.
The work by Sophie Gresswell, depicting children participating in the Luton International Carnival, was commissioned by the sustainable transport charity Sustrans.
Pupils created carnival headdresses for their cycle helmets and then went on to ride in the parade
– the first for a Luton school.
Sustrans’ School Mark recognises and supports schools’ excellence in active and sustainable travel. There are three progressive levels for schools to work through – Bronze, Gold and Silver.
Silver is awarded to a school that continues to demonstrate its commitment to promoting active and sustainable travel with much of the energy and resource coming from the school and its community.
Sophie was the ideal candidate to create the celebratory painting as she works part-time for Sustrans at Central Bedfordshire’s Travel Choices Hub in Dunstable, where her role involves encouraging residents to cycle and walk. A trained contemporary artist, her most recent work was a series of oil paintings showing the faces of family and friends through patterned and broken glass. She has exhibited in London as well as on her website http://sophiegresswell.weebly.com/
and recently travelled to China on a residency.